From Seychelles, on a wing and a prayer

Sheela Bhatt in Bhuj

Devki Veerani, a labourer in his early 30s, waved goodbye to his wife in Sukhpar village in Kutch district three months ago to work in Seychelles as a contract labourer.

"I went to Seychelles and thought that I would make enough money for my family. But for the last five days, I don't even know whether they are alive or not?" weeps Veerani, who landed in Bhuj airport on Thursday afternoon.

And Veerani is not alone. Like him, there are hundreds of Kutchi labourers in Seychelles, working day and night to keep their families' kitchen fires burning back home. The average saving of a Kutchi labourer working in Seychelles is nearly Rs 200,000 per year.

"I have been trying to contact my family members over the phone non-stop. But, I was unable to get through since the quake hit Gujarat," adds Jagdish Hirani, another worker from Seychelles.

There are a large number of Kutchi businessmen in Seychelles, who are doing well in the construction business. They normally hire Kutchi labourers as they are cheaper than the locals.

The add to their frustrations is the fact that there is no direct flight from Seychelles to Bombay.

"Our flight halted at Dubai for nearly 22 hours. We had no information about our family and we were stranded in an alien country. Every passing hour was painful," says Veerani.

When this correspondent took the flight to Bhuj from Bombay airport Thursday morning, nearly 80 workers from Seychelles were on board. All of them were very tense and there was absolute silence on the flight.

Many skipped breakfast and were praying.

Apparently, the Indian embassy has requested the government of India and Seychelles to run a direct flight and both governments have agreed in principle to start this service immediately.

According to the labourers, "The Seychelles government has given all Kutchi workers a month's leave so that they can go back and check their families' well-being."

Says Veerani, "My parents, wife and two children are in Sukhpar. I don't know whether they are dead or alive. Communication links have been completely damaged and there is no way I could contact them. I just pray they are alive otherwise my life will have no meaning."

Hirani says, "We went to Seychelles for our family. We slogged day and night for them. What is the point in surviving if our family members are dead."

There are nearly 2,500 Kutchi people involved in the construction business in Seychelles and most of them belong to Sukhpar.

"There is no water to drink in Kutch, there is no agricultural activity, no industrialisation. So, we had no other option but to go to Seychelles," adds Harshi Khetani.